Me and Myself, Brothers
by BreakingPenguin
Summary: The Strawhat Pirates are gone and Luffy is left alone to be the Pirate King. Wandering around the world for 2 years, he found a mystery well. He jumped in and awoken in a forest that seems oddly familiar. There he met a dirty, bleeding and starved boy. Nothing too weird, but the thing is that the boy was... himself? (GEN, no pairings, Time Travel)
1. Chapter 1

**General Warnings: Language, some violence, time travel**

**Disclaimer: I don't own or will ever own One Piece (unless Oda-sensei will give it to me, and in that case, One Piece will turn into crack). I only own the some of the plot and any (or non) of my own original character/s.**

**No romantic non-cannon pairings (actually the whole story will be centred around my OTP: LuffyxMeatxStrawhatxNakamaship, which is basically cannon!)**

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**Author's Notes:**

**Hi! So this is my first fanfiction, so please be kind! This idea has been stuck in my head for too long, so without further ado, here is the first chapter of _Me and Myself, Brothers_!**

**EDIT (23-4-2015): I got a beta reader now, and she/he had volunteered to help me fix up this chapter even though I already publish it. So kind! So remember to thank ****_Black Night Wolf_**

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**Chapter One: The Pirate King and the Mystery Well**

Chapter One: The Pirate King and the Mystery Well

"If I jumped into here, and if the mystery signpost was lying I might die drowning." Wide brown eyes stared into the inky black water that seemed to absorb even the glinting sunlight above.

"But if nothing does happen and I do die, I don't have much to risk. And I _really_ want to find out what will happen if what the sign post said was real… Meh, whatever, if I never try I won't find out!"

With that, Luffy jumped into the darkness, clutching onto his hat to make sure it doesn't fly away.

~FlashBack~

All his nakama's dreams are already achieved.

Zoro has beaten Mihawk in a one-on-one fight to the death and became the world's greatest swordsman.

They had been to all the islands, discovered new ones and sailed across all the seas. Nami drew her map of the world, made many copies of it and sold them to people they met on their journey; she made lots of money.

Ussop was known for his skills as a sharpshooter around the world and his dad sent him many letters and called him many times on the Den Den Mushi, telling him how proud he was. Ussop constantly replied back enthusiastically. He also phoned Kaya and told her all about all of his adventures (that were all true with only tiny bits of lies in them) with the crew.

They had sailed over parts of the All Blue and found many new species of fish and other sea creatures. Sanji had cooked many new foods for his crew and wrote a cookbook filled with his new recipes.

Chopper had, after learning many new healing methods and medicines from the different islands, made a medicine that can cure all diseases and illness.

Robin had learnt of the history of the islands they had been to and found the Rio Poneglygh.

Franky had been sailing on his dream the whole time and took the Thousand Sunny to many new extremes every time they met a new danger or adventure.

They had returned to the Reverse Mountain and Brook finally reunited with Laboon after all those years and was delighted that the whale still remembered him and his songs.

All their dreams are already true, the only thing that was left was Luffy's dream.

"Ah! It's there! We arrived!" Luffy grinned as the Thousand Sunny drew closer to Raftel, the island said to hold the One Piece. "But it seems like we're not alone"

There were several ships along the coast of Raftel, each of them bigger than theirs. Among them Luffy spotted the flag of the traitor to the Whitebeard pirates and the one who brought his big brother to Impel Down.

The smile under the straw hat turned into a frown. The fight for the One Piece and the capture of the Straw Hats had begun.

~XXX~

Nobody kept track of the time since the battle started, anyone who did didn't care anymore as they fought for their lives. The Straw Hats, Blackbeards, and the Marines had fought for god knows how long. The number of their fighters decreased as the number of the dead grew.

A lone man stood above a bloody sea of bodies. Not one of them twitched as the blood and sweat covered man bent down to pick up something. He held the thing that had caused so much pain and grief, as well as hope and dreams in his hands.

"So this is the One Piece huh? Doesn't look like much, but then again, I never looked like much either." A weary grin graced the man's bloody face. He held the One Piece high above the dead bodies and the straw hat that rested on his head, took a deep breath and roared out.

"I am the _Pirate King_!"

~XXX~

The straw hatted man buried his nakama on the same island where his brother and Whitebeard was buried.

The swordsman's three swords were sheathed and the blades stuck into the top of his grave.

The navigator's Clima-Tact, log pose, and the original map of the world laid on top of her grave.

The sharpshooter's weapon hanged from a stick on top of his grave.

The cook's cookbook was closed and propped on a bit of his grave that stuck out on top.

The doctor's hat hanged off a cross on his grave.

The archeologist's book that she wrote containing true history propped on top of her grave, in a way much similar to the cook's.

The shipwright's blue print of the ship he designed and built from scratch laid spread opened, covering almost the whole top of his grave.

The musician's violin was on a stand on top of his grave.

The crew's ship made her last journey when she carried the weeping family and friends of the dead to their graves, before she was anchored forever by a cliff near the graves.

All the people that took part of the battle died, both good and evil, except for the straw hatted man. The man had personally killed the captain of the Blackbeard pirates and the Marine that had shoved a fist of magma into his brother's chest from behind.

The Straw Hat pirates were no more, 'cause, how could there be a crew when every crew member was _dead_, except the captain?

~XXX~

The news of Straw Hat Luffy finding the One Piece and becoming the Pirate King had spread faster than Luffy expected. After his nakamas' death, he traveled around the world alone on a small ship built by the shipwrights on Water 7. None of the people close to his dead crew were angry or mad at him -which he didn't get, he _failed_ them- and he was secretly glad for that.

He took the pirate flag from the top of the Thousand Sunny. Just because the Straw Hat pirates was dead doesn't mean that he would give up on their flag -their very thing that had made them pirates-, it would be the biggest disgrace to them.

Luffy kept grieving about his crew's death -and how it was his fault- as he sailed the New World, which he hid behind a 'Shishishi' and a grin that seemed a little too big, before he met Shanks again for the first time in more than 10 years.

He kept a false smile as he gave the red hair his hat. Shanks, however, noticed his facade, and saw his grief. He refused to take the hat, claiming how could Straw Hat Luffy be called that without his signature hat that had saw through Luffy and his nakama's journey from the very beginning. Luffy then stood still with his eyes wide, before he buried his face in Shanks' chest and wrapped rubbery arms around him while clutching tightly at the straw hat, and for the first time since his crew's death, cried out the tears he hid from the world. Shanks just stood there and gently patted Luffy's head with the only arm he had and told Luffy that it wasn't his fault. That his crew would be thankful that he helped them with their dreams. That they would be happy to know that they died helping Luffy become the Pirate King. That they would risk everything, like how he'd done so many times for them, to make sure that their captain was king.

Luffy left the island that the Red Hair Pirates were staying at with a new mindset. He had thought of how his crew would react if they saw how he was like now and decide Shanks was right, his crew wouldn't want him grieving, just to live his life freely as the Pirate King, the title they fought for him, and the reason that vastly different people banded together to become the Straw Hat pirates.

He sailed away smiling with the flag of the Straw Hats once again flying above Luffy's head that carried his nakama's soul and spirits with him on his journey.

~XXX~

With the straw hat placed firmly on his head and his crew's flag flying proudly in the air, Luffy continued his journey around the world.

He had placed territory of villages and towns that were pillaged and ruined under his name, so that the people would be safe -he somehow made bonds with the people there and the people now taught their children about the great man that the Pirate King was.

He had ran away from the marines that were chasing him before turning around and laughing as they paled, frozen from fear, and ran away screaming that the Pirate King was after them.

He had anchored his ship down at the entrance of the Grand Line and scared all the rookies that came down the Reverse Mountain. When Luffy gave them an emotionless stare, they nearly pissed their pants -some really did- before Luffy 'Shishishi'ed and invited them over for a drink.

He had sped away on his ship when his grandpa came after him with his Fist of Love and a whole fleet of ships, wanting to 'teach him a lesson' for becoming the King of the Pirates.

He had met up with Marco, the captain of the White Beard pirates, to have random parties (Marco denied he liked the parties, but Luffy knew otherwise) from time to time.

He had visited Coby at the Marine HQ to celebrate his 'promotion from a cabin boy to a marine' as Luffy liked to call it, while the Marines nearby gaped at the sight of the _Pirate King_ being friendly with an _Admiral_, of all things.

He had went back to his hometown in East Blue to see Makino, the woman who was like a mother and a sister to him and Dadan and the bandits who had taken care of him, even though they tried their best to not show that they cared.

He met up with Sabo and they exchanged story's of their childhood and well as all they have achieved during their time apart.

He had visited Ace's and his crew's graves and poured sake on their graves, while drinking some himself and told them about the adventures he had been on as the Pirate King.

He had sailed everywhere and anywhere to make his name known and fought many pirates that thought they could take him down. He had been on adventures that made the name of his crew proud.

~XXX~

It had already been two years since the death of his crew mates and him becoming the Pirate King. A year and eight months since meeting Shanks again and getting his head right.

"Ah, I arrived here, it took forever!"

Luffy was standing behind the wheel of his ship, grinning at the island that was rapidly getting closer. The ship stopped by the coast and Luffy dropped down the anchor. He hopped off the boat, taking care not to step into the water, and onto the shore. It had been the first time in two years since he was on the island that held the One Piece. The island hasn't changed much since the last time Luffy had seen it, except that it was missing the dead bodies that were littered all over the place before.

The weather had already washed away all signs of the battle, but he could still somehow smell the rusty coppery smell of the blood that had stain the soil and dyed the sand red. He shook his head a few times and looked around the small shore a few times to get the morbid thoughts from his head, before starting to slowly walk over into the forest nearby. But he couldn't help but think about who -or what- removed the other bodies from the island and he didn't think anyone would give Blackbeard a funeral or even pick up the bastard's dead body.

Into the forest he trudged deeper, towards the centre of the island, swatting at the branches and leaves blocking his way. Walking through the forest was not a pleasant thing as the heat was almost unbearable for the rubberman, and when his stomach grumbled loudly, for the first time in his life he paid no attention to it. There weren't any signs of living beings around, whether that was because they feared him (and his hunger) or because the battle had wiped them all out Luffy didn't know. He walked further in the dark forest and it was only natural that he sighed in relief and took a fresh breath of air when he got out of the forest that was humid; heated to a degree that could give a normal person a heat stroke.

The centre of the island was a rocky, barren terrain of what was a volcano before and was the goal of his journey. Although relieved that he was out of the heat, he frowned as he glanced around. He could still remember clearly where exactly he'd last saw them alive, and where he had found their dead bodies limp on the ground.

With his eyes set on each spot, he walked over to the places his nakama died, his eyes blank as they were glazed over. Soon he moved on, 'cause he promised that he wouldn't grieve, walking to the centre, which was where the One Piece was and was the tallest point of the island.

Once he arrived there, he squatted on the soles of his feet before sitting down cross-legged on the very place he had his showdown with Marshal D Teach and Akainu. Pausing suddenly as he didn't quite know what to do once he reached the very top -he just felt like he needed to- he settled down looking at the horizon. The view was wonderful despite the island being a battlefield just two years ago and was filled with bitter memories; Luffy suddenly thought how he wished to share this view with his nakama.

Shaking those thoughts from his head -he knew his crew were dead and he knew his nakama would just want him to explore the world for them- his sharp eyes caught onto something just at the corner of his vision. He blinked, that wasn't there before, he was sure of it. Focusing his gaze -it helped that he was using observation haki- he could make out a cylinder shape that jutted above the ground. Leaning forward, his neck stretching a bit, he found that it turned out to be a well.

"Whoa! What's a well doing here? I didn't see it before. Should I go check it out?" Luffy paused, a second passed, before answering his own question. "Okay! I should go take a look at it!"

He bounced up to his feet, stood straight before running towards the well. The rubberman laughed as he skidded to a halt just as his feet touched the well, and his body bent to balance himself before he snapped straight again.

The well looks like an ordinary thing, nothing special. Moss was growing in between each of the stone bricks the well was made of, and the well almost looks like it was about to crumble away.

Despite it being so plain, he curiously peered into the well, wanting to find out more about his 'discovery'. Luffy craned his neck forward, hands on the edge of the well to stop himself from falling in. Squinting into the darkness, he tried to make out what could be in the well.

He frowned when all he could see was black that was darker than the night sky without stars. Even using his observation haki was no use. Determined to find out what was at the bottom, -because the well wasn't deep enough so the sun couldn't reach the bottom, and if there was water at the bottom it should have at least reflected the sunlight above- he looked around for anything that could help him solve the 'mystery of the well'. His gaze landed on a tree.

Briefly he imagined all the things the tree could do to help him. But then his mind drew to a blank when he tried to think of anything useful. He looked around some more. Tree, tree, tree, tree, bush, tree, rock. Ah, that could work! His arm pull back, he aimed then he stretched his arm over to the rock. When his arm grabbed the rock, he withdrew and his arm snapped back into it's normal length. He dropped the rock into the well while staring at it the whole time.

The rock dropped with a plop into the well. Even though there was no ripple or any visible sign of there being any thing in the well, Luffy recognised the sound of the rock hitting and sinking into some sort of liquid. He tilted his head to the side and crossed his arms over his chest.

It was weird, because if there was water in the well -his simple mind concluded the liquid could only be water because it was a well- why didn't he find it earlier? He blinked at the well a few times, before he stepped back and hit his open palm with a fist.

"Oh I know! It's a mystery well!" Luffy nodded, pleased with himself for getting to the bottom of the problem.

He circled around it, admiring his well, -it was his because he figured out what it was first- but then something smacked him on the side of his head.

"Ow!" He spun around and glared at the unknown attacker. A wooden signpost stood in his vision.

"Oh, it's just a signpost, why didn't I noticed that before?" The rubberman stared at the signpost that was definitely not there before.

"Hmm, it's obvious!" He muttered. "There is an unknown signpost next to the mystery well. The signpost must be a mystery signpost!"

When he patted the signpost and claimed it was his, words started to appear on the empty signpost.

"That's so cool! I wonder what it says!" He spun around smiling. "Robin~ can you read-"

The smile on his face faded, just a little. "Oh yeah, they aren't here with me. Never mind, I'll read it myself!"

The archaeologist had taught Luffy how to read and to a much lesser extent write when he had showed interest in one of the books in the library of the Thousand Sunny.

Luffy squinted at the swirly text that reminded him of Sanji's eyebrow(s) and read out loud.

"A... treasure you have found, a treasure so... great. The dreams you have helped… achieve. Now the... leader of them all, what have you won and what have you lost? You can't change the… future, so what can you change? A... mysterious door will open, a… doorway to the past, for you and you… only. You can choose to enter or to not, choose wisely.

Question marks appeared above his head and he tilted his head.

"Ehh? I wonder what that means? It's all riddley and stuff, I don't get it!" Luffy bit his lip, deep in thought for 5 seconds before he gave up, head steaming and face red.

Just as he was about to turn his head and investigate the mystery well again, the words on the signpost disappeared and new ones took their place.

"Oh, you have something more to say, mystery signpost?"

The sign post said nothing, so he read the new words.

"You who have found the One Piece, a.k.a the... Pirate King can go into a… magical portal and... time travel to the past to change stuff. Jump into the… freaking well now, idiot!"

A look of understanding dawned on Luffy's face.

"Time travel! Woah, so cool! Why couldn't you have said that earlier, mystery signpost?"

If a signpost could sweat drop, it would now.

"So if I want to time travel, I just have to jump into the mystery well?"

Luffy stood on the edge of the well and looked down.

~FlashBack end, so back to the beginning~

"If I jumped into here, and if the mystery signpost was lying I might die drowning." Wide brown eyes stared into the inky black water that seemed to absorb even the glinting sunlight above.

"But if nothing does happen and I do die, I don't have much to risk. And I _really_ want to find out what will happen if what the sign post said was real… Meh, whatever, if I never try I won't find out!"

With that, Luffy jumped into the darkness, clutching onto his hat to make sure it doesn't fly away.

And so, Luffy's new adventure began.

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**End of Chapter One**

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**I haven't wrote much on how Luffy became Pirate King, due to it not being revelled yet (for like 10 or so years later). This chapter basically just summarises all that happened to Luffy, that leads up to him finding the well. The story is pretty choppy because of all the time skips, but it will be more consistent next chapter. Still, hope you enjoyed the story. I know that I probably have many grammar issues (english is not my first language), so I am looking for a beta! (Edit 23-4-2015: _Black Night Wolf_ and _PirateDragons121_ had agreed to be beta readers! :D)**

**Reviews drive me forward and I might upload the next chapter in a week or so. **

**Oh and if you are interested in how Luffy learnt to read, there is a separate one shot that I wrote. Just visit my profile!~**

**See you next chapter!**

_**Breaking Penguin**_** (or just**_ **B. Penge**_**)**


	2. Chapter 2

**General Warnings: Language, some violence, time travel**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, it belongs to Oda-sensei (I will never be good enough to own it *cries). I only own some of the plot and any (or non) of my own original character/s.**

**No romantic non-canon pairings**

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**Author's Notes:**

**So, I guess I uploaded a bit later than a week... but I said a week or so, so a few day later should be okay! Second chapter finally here! Hope you enjoy!**

**(Just in case if you are confused, the "~XXX-POV~" just serves like a miniature line break for a P.O.V chance, whether else just "~XXX~" means a time-skip or a miniature line break)**

**EDIT (23-4-2015): My beta, _Black Night Wolf_ had helped me fix this chapter!**

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**Chapter Two: Too. Much. Thinking.**

Luffy woke up as he blinked weakly. The sun was just rising and the surroundings were still dark; the trees casting looming shadows. Still, some how, a beam of light shone right in his eye and he hated it. His head was pounding and he felt dizzy, like that time he drank with Shanks and woke up 2 days later with a massive hangover -Shanks was the only person that could make him feel so drunk. All he wanted to do was to crawl away from the light into the shade and sleep, but he pushed himself up with his arms. The grass beneath him tickled as he forced himself to sit up- not drop back down-, and he laughed, but that just sent another wave of pain through his mind.

He glanced at the environment around him. "Huh, this doesn't seem like where I was before. I wonder what-"

A roar cut him off mid-sentence. Luffy turned around to glare at the thing that had made the noise. A larger than usual lion stared down at him, growling fiercely. The beast was looking like it was ready to bite Luffy's head off, licking its sharp jaws, mouth drooling. It was a beast that would send normal grown men running, but Luffy wasn't normal.

"Oi! That was rude, you bastard." Luffy mumbled, clutching his head as a jolt of pain ran through him.

The lion licked its jaws for a final time before lunging at the seemly harmless young man. The only reaction of the young man who just woke up was to move his head to the side and the lion snapped at the air besides him. The beast was shocked that the puny human had somehow managed to dodge his attack and got ready to strike again.

Grumbling could be heard from Luffy's flat stomach. He looked down at his belly then back up at the lion. He smirked.

"It seems like you didn't hear me the first time." He said, eyes staring at the lion with obvious hunger in them.

The lion froze mid chomp, its eye going wide. He finally realized how stupid it had been to try to threaten the man. It shut its mouth and started to back away.

"Oh, trying to escape aren't you?"

The beast panicked and turned tail, planning to get away as fast as it could, away from the dangerous man that is emitting the aura of a predator. Before the lion could even take a single step, a sharp pain ran through its brain and it collapsed, the pain far too strong for it to take.

Luffy took a step closer to the downed animal and punched it on the head with one sharp blow, killing it effectively.

"Hmm, you were weak."

Luffy then glanced around, several birds that didn't escape from the area quickly enough had also dropped from the sky. He looked at them with pursed lips. "Sorry didn't mean to do that, seems like the headache was stronger than I thought, I couldn't control the haki properly."

He licked his lips and was suddenly much more cheerful. "But hey! I get more to eat!"

Ending on that happy note, he wandered around to collect some firewood to cook his meat (which also meant bulldozing down some of the trees due to his temporary discoordination). As he walked, he recognized a few of the trees and scenery, but for some reason he couldn't place his finger on where he was. He could also sense that this island was inhabited, which means he could go and ask the villagers for his whereabouts.

The Pirate King's stomach growled, reminding him that he was hungry. Ah, whatever, he could think about his placement over breakfast. He ran back to the dead carcass and started a fire with the wood he gathered. As the meat cooked (far too slowly, he reckoned), he started to try to solve the mystery of where he was. This place didn't seem like it was in the New World (the animals were too small, too weak, and the place has a strange sense of peace, even though he felt a prejudicial evil aura towards his far right.), and he didn't really want to bother the local villagers anyways. With his reputation as Pirate King, which comes with many false rumors, the villagers was more likely to run away and/or faint rather than to give him directions.

Smoke began to rise from his head as he raked through his brain to try and think of where he had seen this forest before. He had been to countless islands and had lost track of what was what and where was where (that was Nami's job anyways). When his head felt like it was going to split, he decided to stop. Meh, he would finish his meat before finding his way back to Raftel one way or another, there was no point trying to think about it.

After eating the lion and scraping the meat off the poor birds (both of which only took a few minutes. It was barely enough, but it did made his headache go away), he heard a rustling in the bushes that surrounded the clearing he was in. He directed his observation haki at the noise. To his delight, his senses told him it was a person, even though the presence felt very weak and small. Maybe this person could tell him where he was and how to get out!

Smiling widely -he didn't need to think about where he is anymore- he waited for the mystery person to come out into the clearing. He waited eagerly, leaning forward to due to the excitement of solving the mystery and meeting a new person who could possibly be a new friend.

To Luffy's surprise, a young boy came stumbling out into the clearing, looking like he was near death. The boy was bleeding and coated with blood, sweat and dirt. On a closer look, he looked starved and was only managing to walk out of sheer will power.

"Hey, are you okay?" Luffy asked, concern laced in his voice. He normally wouldn't show much concern to just anybody, but this kid somehow reminded him of his own childhood. The look in the boy's eyes showed pain and loneliness, just like how he felt before he met Shanks, Ace, and Sabo. The kid's unfocused gaze lifted to look at Luffy.

"H-help."

That was all the kid could mutter out before his knees gave out. Luffy caught the unconscious kid in both arms before the boy could hit the ground. The tired little round face along with the lithe body made the kid look like he was four or five years old, but Luffy couldn't be certain. He himself after all, was small for his age when he was a kid too.

He didn't know what the kid meant to him and why he felt the need to save him, but he knew it was going to make his life more complicated (not that it wasn't already). Whatever, he _had_ hoped for the person in the bushes to be his friend and the boy sure looks like he needed one.

~XXX~

Luffy had never took care of someone younger than him, much less a kid, but he did know he had to do something about the bleeding. Chopper once told him that not everyone was like him and Zoro, and they would die if they lost too much blood. He wasn't sure how much was too much, but the kid was very pale and the amount of blood that was on the clothing looked like the kid already lost one-sixth of his blood. Most of the wounds on the kid's body stopped bleeding already and most of the blood was dry, but nonetheless he should wrap the wounds in something to make it better.

He also knew that he should clean up the boy, as Chopper said that unclean people will get sick, and he didn't want the boy that he could possibly be friends with, to die in his care. His devil fruit made it so that he couldn't wash the boy in the sea, (he couldn't smell any nearby salt water anyways), but using his Observation haki -a damn useful thing to know-, he found another clearing in the forest that had a small river and a small waterfall. It was okay for him to touch fresh water as he found out a while ago, so he proceeded to take off the boy's clothing and his own vest and captain's cloak; placing them on a flat rock and stepped into the water with the boy that was still unconscious in his arms. He wadded through the ankle deep clear water until he reached a slightly deeper part of the river, where he began to scrub the boy as gently as he could with his hands; trying his best not to drown the boy. The boy's hair gleamed a soft shiny black after he washed the hair that was matted with blood and dirt.

When Luffy deemed the kid clean enough, he carried the limp body back to the river bank and laid him down where the clothing was. He dried the boy with his own relatively clean vest and tore it up into strips to serve as a temporary bandage to put pressure on the wounds. Then he laid his cloak on top of the boy, just in case the boy was cold.

Noticing the boy's clothing that was quite (really) dirty, he picked them up and went back to the river to wash them. The boy needed something to wear when he woke up after all (not that Luffy cared if people were naked or not) and Luffy _does_ know how to wash stuff (courtesy of Nami and other female's in his life). He dunked the clothing into the river before scrubbing madly at them.

While he tried to clean all the gunk that was on the boy's shirt and shorts, he noticed that there were a few creatures in the water trying to sneak up on him. Crocodiles with big jaws swam under the water's surface, hard to detect by anyone inexperienced. Luffy watched them swim closer to him. _Perfect_, he thought. He needed some meat after all this hard work.

~XXX-POV~

"Ah, you're awake?"

The little boy glanced around at his side and through his blurry vision he could see a human shaped blob next to him. Was he safe at last? Did he survive from the beast that was chasing him? Or was he in that place Gramps said was up in the clouds?

Wide eyes blinked again, and this time he could see the man more clearly. The guy looked much older than him and looked like he was smiling at him.

"W-what?" The young boy stuttered. His throat hurt and he was confused. He had never met this man before, was he the person who saved him? Something was thrusted in front of his face.

"Here, drink this!"

Even though he didn't know what the person offered him, he figured it couldn't hurt so he tilted his head back and opened his mouth. Cool, refreshing liquid ran down his sore throat.

Ah! It was water! He happily gulped down the water from the man's cupped hands, ignoring that some of it dripped down his chin. Once he was free from the pain, he took a better look at the stranger.

A straw hat on top of messy black hair, wide brown eyes, a scar on his left cheek, a 'X' shaped scar on his muscled chest, and most importantly, a 'D' shaped grin. He noticed that his apparent savior was shirtless, only wearing his blue shorts.

Glancing down at himself, he noticed red fabric was bandaged around his body, and red and gold fabric that covered his naked body. That seemed to be part of the stranger's outfit. His shirt and shorts was lying next to him so he wore his clothing and handed the cloak back to the stranger. The stranger grinned even wider when he took the cloak, and hung it from his shoulders, his scar shown proudly to the world. The man, the boy thought, looked cool in the outfit. He tried standing up, but he winced from pain before sitting down again.

"Who are you?" The young boy asked curiously when the straw-hatted man sat down and faced him eye to eye. He noticed the man and himself had similar eyes, but the man's were more narrower and sharper.

"Shishishi," the man laughed. "Not going to tell you yet." He stuck out his tongue childishly at the boy.

"Meanie!" The kid said, pouting.

"So who are you?" The stranger asked the kid's own question back at him.

"Me? Oh, I'm L-" The boy was cut short when a loud roaring sound came from the woods surrounding them. Crashes were heard and trees fell down as something moved across the forest ground towards them. A _huge_ bear, many times bigger than either of them, came into the clearing.

"It's-it's him!" The boy yelled, his body stiffened with fear as his face paled.

"What's wrong?"

"We-we have to run! It's the bear that was chasing me before, it can fight on par to the Tiger Lord!" The boy picked himself up, only to fall back down. He could only watch in horror as the bear came closer and closer to them, it's eyes' glaring at the prey that had escaped him before. The man next to him wasn't running or panicking, only watching the bear out of the corner of his eyes.

What's wrong with him! Wasn't he scared that the bear would kill and eat both of them? Wasn't he scared of death?

Just as the bear was right above them, the man stood up and glared at the bear.

"Shut up! Can't you see you're interrupting my conversation here? This is the the second time already, -and people say _I'm_ the rude one!" The man shouted, his face twisted into a frown.

What was the man doing? It would get him _killed_. The boy so desperately wanted to close his eyes, to turn away, to cover his face, to faint, to do _something_ to not face the impending doom that was coming his way; but he couldn't.

Maybe it's because of the man, the stranger that was oozing out so much confidence. Maybe it's because the man seemed so brave. Whatever it was, for some reason, he knew that the man would defend him.

The bear's gaze switched over to the man, yet the man wasn't afraid. All of a sudden the bear swiped a large paw at the man, but the man didn't move, didn't seem startled.

"Watch out!" The boy cried out. The man turned to face him and grinned.

"It's okay. Don't worry, I can defeat it, it's weak." The man said nonchalantly, just before the bear's paw hit his body straight on.

But the man didn't fly away and didn't get smacked into the forest by the power of the blow.

The boy's eyes widened. The man was still standing there, as if he didn't get hit with a force that could knock down some of the biggest and thickest trees he knew.

The man's smirk widen, still facing him.

"See, I told you I would be okay." He said, before facing the bear and cocking his fist back.

"Now time to take care of this." His arm stretched further and further back.

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" The man shouted, fist zooming past his face and towards the beast. The fist hit its target with a satisfying crunch. The bear roared in pain before its eyes rolled to the back of its head and dropped down comically in a dead faint.

The boy's jaw dropped. The stranger defeated one of the forest's strongest animals with just one hit. S-s-so cool! Eyes turned to stars as he looked at the man with admiration.

The man turned around to smiled at him. "The bear is unconscious, it won't be waking up anytime soon."

The man sounded so awesome and strong! The little boy's fist clenched in determination, and silently made a promise. Alright, he will one day be as strong as this man! Even though he just met the man, the stranger had already became his idol. Now the question was, who or what is his new idol?

"W-who are-" The boy was cut short by a large grumbling noise that was -for once- not an animal. Both males looked down at their stomach and said the same same time.

"'I'm hungry."

~XXX-POV~

Luffy chuckled. He liked this kid already.

"Let's eat first, questions later!" He exclaimed, jabbing a thumb at the direction of the crocodile meat that should be done and ready to be eaten.

"Food!" All questions forgotten, the kid ran towards the crocodile, drooling from the mouth. Luffy ran after him.

"Oi!" He wasn't going to let the kid eat all the meat even though he offered it to him. Normally, he doesn't like to share his meat with people he just met (he wasn't a hero!), but for some reason he did. Maybe because the kid was hurt, and meat heals everything and he wanted the kid to heal faster? Or maybe because the kid looked like he was starved (and if Sanji was alive, he would kick Luffy's head in)? Or maybe it's because he wanted the kid to be his new friend. Luffy thinks it's a combination of all three.

The kid skidded to a sudden halt by the food and turned around to face Luffy. There was a hungry, desperate, _pleading_ looking in the boy's eyes, as if begging for Luffy's permission to eat.

Blinking with surprise -he himself wouldn't pause and ask for permission- Luffy nodded, giving the boy the go-ahead to dig in.

Bits of meat flew everywhere as both of them tore apart the crocodile with their bare hands and began shoving the meat into their mouths. Occasionally, the kid would have trouble with a particular part of the crocodile, so Luffy would kindly stop for a few seconds to eat that part, in exchange for a piece of meat that he already tore off and was easier to chew. They ate almost in sync, dealing with the leathery skin easily.

When they were finished with their meal, Luffy was glad to see that his future friend was looking less bony and skinny and that his skin color looked more healthier. The crocodile was stripped to the bone and the mighty beasts that lived in the river was now gleaming shiny with saliva under the sun.

"So..."

There was a awkward silence, but neither Luffy or the kid noticed it.

"Yo!" Both of them lifted a hand to greet each other at the same time.

~XXX-POV~

The kid blinked.

"Shishishi. Your funny, kid!" The boy looked blankly at the man who was laughing, before scowling the best he could, which was more cute than imitating.

"Shut up! What's so funny!" The kid exclaimed, pointing a finger in the man's face. This only caused his idol to laugh even harder. He blushed, with anger and embarrassment.

"Nothing. Hey, do you want to be my nakama?"

"Huh? N-nakama?" The kid stared at the man dumbfounded. He thought that the man would hit him for being so rude (like his grandpa).

"Yeah, nakama! You know what is means, right? Nakama is-"

He cut the man off. "I know what it means. I'm not stupid! Makino told me!"

The man blinked as he registered his words. "Makino?"

"Yeah, what about it?" He wasn't about to forgive the man so easily for thinking he was dumb, idol or not.

"You know Makino? From Dawn island?" The man questioned.

"I do. She takes care of me whenever gramps isn't here," he replied. What was the man getting at? He narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"Wait- so which island am I on right now?"

Was this man stupid, he didn't even know which island he was on. And the man dared to think he was stupid?

"On Dawn island, in East Blue, duh."

"Are you sure?"

Was the man questioning him? Ha, he'll show him!

"Yes! I have lived here my whole life, of course I'm sure."

The stranger then stood up and paced around the forest while muttering to himself. His face turned redder and redder, until smoke began rising out of his head. The kid watched him as he walked back and forth.

What's wrong, was the man angry at him? He didn't want that! He wants to be friends -nakama! Was the man going to withdraw his offer because he made him mad?

"So I traveled that far before I woke up, huh? This is exactly like what happened when Kuma hit me, except I know where I landed on now. But I don't remember flying for three days and nights, and besides, Franky fixed him and gave him to Dragon, so he shouldn't have attacked me. So it's a mystery force that sent me here! Maybe the mystery force and Kuma are related, li-like they are brothers or something! But that couldn't be the case, cause there's only one type of each devil fruit. Arghhh! This is so frustrating!"

The man let out a sudden roar and flopped down onto the floor. The boy jumped, before cautiously heading towards the fallen man.

Was he okay? He grabbed one of the man's hands to try and pull him off the floor. To his surprise, the man's arm stretched like a rubber band and the man's body was still lying on the ground like a dead fish.

"Ehh!" The kid yelped, dropping the man's hand as it flopped bonelessly onto the ground. "What!"

"Huh?" The man said, before he dug his feet into the ground and bent his body forward so he stood up straight again. "What are you panicking about?"

"Your-your arm! It stretched!" The boy shouted.

"I'm a rubber man, don't you know? I thought you saw me use the Gomu Gomu no Pistol on that bear earlier?" The man said with half lidded eyes, as if it was obvious.

The boy blushed as he turned his head away from the man. It was true that he saw the man's arm stretch in his attack, but back then he was too frightened of the bear to question it, and when there was food, he had quickly forgotten. He quickly searched his tiny mind for a comeback to the stranger.

"What the hell are you anyways?" (that was a feeble comeback)

"Oh, I'm a pirate." The man said cheerfully, as if that answered everything.

"That didn't answer anything!" The boy shouted, before the man's words working into his brain. "Wait, you're a pirate?"

When the man nodded, he asked again.

"Why? Gramps told me pirates are bad guys." This man didn't sound like any of the pirates that Gramps told him about and his new hero _couldn't_ possibly be a bad guy.

The man reached towards his own head, lowering the straw hat so only his mouth could be seen.

"Because pirates are free, and I am the freest man in all the seas." He said, before lifting his head, smiling widely with his eyes closed.

"W-wow" The man was so cool... but... "Grandpa always told me if I see a pirate I should beat him up."

The man laughed.

"Your grandpa sounds pretty stupid." The man replied bluntly.

The boy nodded in agreement. Yeah his Gramps was dumb and a big jerk.

"He wants me to be a strong marine, but I don't want to join the marines, they don't sound fun. My gramps throws me into the forest for training all the time. I don't want to be a marine if it means training like that!"

"Shishishi" The man laughed his strange laugh.

"Your gramps sounds like my gramps. He also likes to throw me into the forest and ties me to balloons for training. I think they would be great friends if they met." As soon as he said that, the thought of something ran through his head and the man visibly shivered.

"Maybe they're already friends, after all, they came from the same island." The man muttered, sounding like he was in despair.

~XXX-POV~

Oh no! He was scared of his grandpa and the thought of two old men with bellowing laughs, eating doughnuts while hitting their grandsons on the head with twin Fist of Loves, being friends with each other was too much to take in.

Luffy blanked out for a while, thinking of all the horrors that could happen. But then... Luffy thought for a while before he eyed his new friend with suspicion for a second before asking,

"What's the name of your gramps?"

"O-oh, my Gramps is Monkey D. Garp." The boy said said, taken back at the sudden change in tone.

"Huh?" What? Luffy stared wide eyed at the little boy. Had he got a little brother or a relative of some sort he never heard of?

~XXX-POV~

The kid stared up at the man. The man looked like he was confused and seemed to be in deep thought. Does this man know his Gramps? Maybe he heard of him before? If they did know each other, should he introduce himself to the man? The man seemed friendly enough and he really, _really_ wanted a friend. The only people that bothered to talk to him was Makino (a kind lady), and his Gramps (a mean old man), so he often felt oh-so lonely...

Alright! He will make the guy who saved his life (and gave him meat, something which he didn't eat for days) his new friend!

"Be my friend! I am Monkey D. Luffy!" The young boy said, smiling one of his 'D' shaped grins that was similar to his hero's (which were _not_ cute, 'cause cute isn't manly!). He expected that the man would definitely jump at the chance to be his nakama, but the man just stood there; eyes wide and mouth agape.

Blinking, the young boy that was named Monkey D. Luffy walked up to the man and poked his arm. The man just stood there like a statue. Luffy giggled. This man is funny! Just before he was about to poke the man in the stomach to wake him from his stupor, the man let out a loud cry that chased away all of the forest life.

"EHHH!?"

* * *

**End of Chapter Two**

* * *

**So... Luffy thinks more now, but he still gets headaches, poor Luffy. I like to think that he would think more now that he is older and would be better at thinking, but I guessed time travel messed up his mind more than it usually is (or he just didn't get much better)! One Monkey has also meet the other Monkey, and so there are two Monkey D. Luffys! Oh no, what happened? (Sarcasm used heavily. If you don't know, I would be disappointed). Luffy is also his own idol (Da dah daahh)!**

**I hope that the switching POV's wasn't too confusing.I hope I didn't make both Luffys too OOC. I hope there isn't too many noticeable grammar mistakes in my work, as I said, grammar is not my strong point.**** Looking for beta reader, so if you are interested, let me know. It's okay even if you just look at one chapter, I'll be glad for the help ****(EDIT: ****_Black Night Wolf_**** and ****_PirateDragons121 _agreed to beta!_)_****.**

**Since I hadn't written any parts of next chapter (I had written out some parts of this chapter before posting chapter one), it might take a week or two to upload, so yeah...**

**Thank you to all the followers and favouriters, and big thanks to ****_Ashielle, Black Night Wolf _****and for reviewing, glad you liked the chapter. I didn't think my story was worth any of those things, eheheh.**

**This was a huge chapter (for me, at least), almost 5k, (my goal was actually 2-3k per chapter), so hope you enjoyed while long chapters last; next chapters will probably be shorter... Wow, this was a huge author note to go with the huge chapter.**

**Please follow, favourite and review for anyone who didn't, it will drive me to write faster! Bye, for now!**

**_Breaking Penguin_**** (****_B. Penge_**** for short)**


	3. Chapter 3

**General Warnings: Language, some violence, time travel**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, it belongs to Oda-sensei (Obviously). I only own some of the plot and any (or non) of my own original character/s.**

**No romantic non-canon pairings**

* * *

**Author notes: **

**Here is the new chapter, I'm sorry it's so late! But at least it is here right? As you may have noticed, I finally drew a cover art, because I felt the cover looked bland. My art may not be the best, I can't draw lines properly, but hey it's something right? Also, my beta reader _Black Night Wolf_ improved this chapter a lot, so thank him/her because otherwise my "forest"s will be misspelt as "forrest".**

* * *

**Chapter Three: Mistaken Identities**

"EHH!?" Luffy shouted, his eyes bulged out comically and his jaw literally hit the ground. He turned to stare at the boy who called himself Luffy. The kid had fallen onto his butt, taken back from the sudden scream that Luffy had let out.

Luffy inspected the boy carefully. He looked at the wide brown eyes, the black messy hair, the shirt the kid was wearing, and the cheek that was missing the signature scar. The boy did look like him when he was younger, but was very different from what he looked like now. Luffy's usually blank brown eyes narrowed.

"You're lying!" He yelled, jutting out a finger and jabbed it at the young boy's forehead.

"Eh?" The boy scrambled backwards to get away from the offensive finger. "No I'm not!"

"Ah, that what liars always say. Spit out the truth, imposter!" Luffy reached out to grab the fake 'Luffy' by the cheek and started pulling on them hard. The boy squirmed, legs dangling mid air as he tried to free himself.

Ha, Serves the little bastard right! Trying to pretend to be him, even a person (idiot) like him can figure out that the boy was obviously a fake. Who did the boy think he was! First of all, the boy didn't even bother putting both of his signature scars on his outfit. Second of all, he didn't even have a straw hat. Even the dumbest of imposters knew that you must need a straw hat to be the Pirate King Straw Hat Luffy! Third of all, he wasn't even the same height.

Luffy paused in his thinking. Wait a minute, maybe he was overthinking the whole thing. Maybe the kid wasn't trying to kill him and turn him to the Marines! Maybe he just wanted to pretend to be the great Pirate King for fun because Luffy was his greatest idol.

No! He dropped the kid, who landed on the floor with a thump. He didn't want to lose his greatest admirers; Ussop always said that to be a successful and famous pirate like Sogeking, he needed lots of admirers!

He looked down at the kid who was wincing in pain from the impacts on his wounds.

"I'm sorry kid, I was mistaken."

The kid still glared up at him. Luffy reached out his hand and offered it to the kid. The kid hesitantly grabbed it and Luffy pulled him up to his feet.

"Hey, want to be nakama? My name is Monkey D. Luffy. This time tell me your real name!" Luffy said with a grin and nodded inwardly to himself. This time the kid was bound to tell him the truth!

"E-eh? But my name is Monkey D. Luffy! And you accused _me_ of pretending to be you?" The boy said, standing up on tip toes, trying to look at him eye to eye, but failed because he only reached up to Luffy's waist.

"What?" Luffy was troubled. On one hand, he knew that he himself was Luffy and he wasn't a fake. There can't be two Luffys, so the obvious conclusion was that the kid in front of him was lying. But on the other hand, he was very good at reading people, and he could only see truth in the boy's eyes. The eyes which were clear of lies and still had the innocence of a kid that hadn't seen much of the world. Those eyes made him want to believe in them, and take the boy out to see the wide and wonderful ocean. (He suddenly felt somewhat old and nostalgic)

Okay, so if he were to believe what the kid was saying, he still needed proof. He tried thinking of something for the kid to prove he was actually Luffy, something that he didn't tell anyone yet...

"Fine, if I were to believe that you are Luffy, you need to answer one secret question. A question so great and secret that even I haven't told my crew mates. I did it at an early age, so even you should have experienced it if you are me." He paused, drawing out the silence.

"It was my greatest accomplishment yet!" He announced, pointing a finger towards the sky for dramatic effect, feeling invisible waves crash behind him.

"W-what's the question?" Younger Luffy's eyes stared fixated, trying to think of what was the most amazing thing he had done.

"Where... where did I hide the only donuts I managed to steal from Gramps?" He said in a hushed voice. Garp still hadn't found the donuts, and he didn't want his gramps overhearing. Gramps hadn't realized that they were gone when he first stole it (at the age of 5) and he had felt so proud of himself for keeping it hidden. It was one of the only secrets he had managed to keep.

Younger Luffy gasped, pupils shrunk and his body backed away. "Ho-How did you know that?" he stuttered, looking around franticly, as if Garp would pop up at anytime (He actually could, that unpredictable old man)

"I think I might be your older self, Luffy. Just answer the question already." Luffy dead panned, sending a unimpressed expression to his supposed younger self.

"Oh, okay." The child version of Luffy replied, accepting the answer immediately. He calmed down a bit, but was still skittish of the little noises in the forest around them. Thinking hard, little Luffy tried to recall the place he had hid the donuts.

"Oh yeah, I buried them under the dirt behind Makino's bar! I remembered Gramps was sleeping and I stole them, but I was really afraid, so I hid them right away."

Luffy nodded. Little Luffy had answered the question correctly, proving that he was indeed, another Monkey D. Luffy, albeit a fun-sized, kid version.

This would be strange to any other person, another version of yourself shouldn't exist, but Luffy just shrugged it off. Stranger things had happened before, and besides, he felt like there was going to be an adventure. His 'adventure sense' was never wrong!

So, this place was definitely the forest his gramps brought him to train when he was younger, and where he, Ace, and Sabo explored. He glanced over at the little kid again and as he noticed before, the kid doesn't have a strawhat. He -even another version of him- would never have lost the strawhat, which probably meant...

"Have you met Shanks?"

Little Luffy blinked, cocking his head to the side. "Who?"

"Oh, I guessed you haven't met him then."

So this Luffy was younger than 7 years old, the age he met Shanks. "How old are you exactly?"

"I'm 5, but I'm gonna be 6 soon." The kid said, all five of his fingers wide and spread to show his age.

"I see." Luffy said, cupping his hand around his chin. He wondered how he managed to meet a 5 year old Luffy and he quickly latched onto the coolest reason he could think of.

"Have you seen any weird flying ships and creatures from another planet?"

"No," Little Luffy shook his head. "But it would be cool if I did!"

"Yep, that would be SUPER cool, right? Shishishi!"

Both of the Luffys laughed in synchronization, their laughs echoing throughout the forest. All previous mistrust and disdain gone. They went on for a few minutes before their laughs died down.

Now that it was quiet again, Luffy tried to think of another reason. He raked through his head, trying to recall what happened before he woke up and what might have caused this event.

'Well let's see now.' He thought, 'I arrived at Raftel, I hiked through a forest, I sat on the very center and top of the island, I spotted something, and-'

"Oh, I know what happened!"

"What?"

"There was a mystery well, except there was no water. There was also a mystery signpost, and it told me that the well was actually a time-travel portal!"

Little Luffy gasped. "Then what happened next?"

"I jumped in and I ended up here and I met little-me, which is you!"

"So cool! You get to travel through time? No fair, I want to try too!"

Luffy stuck out his tongue immaturely. "Ha! Maybe when your older!"

While Little Luffy sulked, the time-traveler thought about his new adventure. He definitely didn't remember seeing a older version of himself when he was younger. He looked at the younger Luffy and ran a hand down his muscular chest. He had his scar from Akainu, and the scar looked old and was slightly faded -exactly how it looked like before he jumped into the well.

From what he could see, he still had the black colored hand shaped scar around his left ankle from where Blackbeard has tried to drag him down when the man was on his last breath. And on his right cheek, there was five scars, similar to the one on his chest, when Akainu had clawed him, each finger leaving a deep burn.

He still had his body before the 'time travel', which was weird because in that one book he had read with Robin, the time traveler went back into his younger body.

This was clearly not the case with him. He still had his body and there was a younger version of himself.

Biting his lip he cocked his head to the side, trying to remember about the theories Robin had told him about time travel when he had expressed interest in it. She had told him that it was very important that he shouldn't change anything, because changing even a tiny thing in the past could affect the future, like if he accidentally killed his father he would never be born, so he wouldn't exist (he doesn't get why would he kill his father). If he didn't exist, she told him, the Straw Hat pirates won't exist too, and he didn't want that. Robin was smarter than him, and he knows that, that's why he listens to her.

But does that mean he shouldn't try to save his crew? He didn't want people to die by his hand, or even worst, cause his nakama to have an earlier death.

His shoulders sagged, all previous excitement from earlier gone. What's the point of being in the past if you can't change the future?

He flopped on the floor bonelessly, moaning sadly in his mind. His scars on his chest, face and ankle throbbed, a reminder of his sworn brother's death and the massacre of nakama.

Suddenly his head popped up, eyes wide. He remembered that Robin said something else about time travel. Something about parallel or another universe. According to Robin -he was so happy he remembered!- there is another type of time travel. Apparently, there is a type where there are alternate timelines, that makes a new timeline from the original, where everything is the same and only that new timeline would be affected so there wouldn't be a 'paradox' (whatever that meant).

Luffy didn't understand it at that time -but he can now (and proud of it!)- so she reworded it to: you can do whatever you want in that type of time travel, and it wouldn't affect you. Seeing how he was most likely in this sort of time travel, does that mean he could save all his nakama? He certainly had the strength to protect all of them now.

"Yosh!"

Little Luffy looked up at him. "Huh?"

"Shishishi, nothing." He was in a much better mood now and it wouldn't hurt to know his younger self better (even though they are the same person). So he glanced at the forest looking for something fun to do.

"Hey, do you want to catch some bugs?"

The kid perked up at suggestion. "Bugs?"

"Yeah bugs. I remember seeing this one bug here before and it was silver! I haven't actually caught it before."

"Cool! I want to catch bugs too!"

Luffy laughed at his enthusiasm.

"Sure!"

And together they marched towards the forest.

~XXX~

"Shishishi, that was fun! We got lots of bugs, although there were no silver ones."

Both Luffys sat down in the forest. Younger Luffy tried standing up, but winced from the pain coming from his ankle. He had accidentally scratched his ankle on a tree root.

"Owie! It hurts." He said, tears gathering in his eyes.

"You shouldn't cry. You can't be a man if you cry so easily!"

"Really?" He asked, trying to hold in his snot and tears. He didn't want to disappoint his older self and idol.

"Mmm, but I think we should go to Makino's bar to get you fixed up, besides, you need better bandages" Older Luffy said, pointing at the red fabric that served as a bandage.

Makino...

"Ahh!" Luffy cried, jumping to his feet, but then fell back down due to the pain. Older Luffy caught him before his butt could touch the floor.

"What's wrong?" Older Luffy inquired.

"I promised Makino that I would be back before sunset, and the sun is already coming down! Besides," he beamed at his idol, "I want to introduce you!"

"But I already know..." Older Luffy trailed off.

"Huh?" Why was his older self hesitating? Didn't he want to meet Makino? He can't think of anyone who wouldn't want to meet the kind lady.

"Nothing. Aren't you going to introduce me?"

"Yeah, lets get going! You'll like her, she's a very nice lady who gives me lots of food!" (he forgot that his idol technically already knows Makino.)

~XXX~

They both hiked through the forest, or rather the older one was piggybacking the younger one because he was still somewhat hurt.

"Hey. If we are both Luffy, how can people tell us apart?"

"What do you mean?" Younger Luffy asked, now confused at the sudden question. What was the super awesome older version of himself trying to say? It was obvious, one was taller and the other shorter. Even he can tell the difference!

"What I mean is , if I told them that I was Luffy, they would be confused as to why there are two Luffys! And when they talk about a Luffy, they won't know which Luffy are they talking about." Older Luffy said.

"Ahh, so that's it." Younger Luffy hit his open palm with his fist, arms still curled around his older self's neck. It was still somewhat confusing, (older-him was so smart!) but he somewhat understood what his older self was trying to say. "So because of mystery reasons and people being dumb, we have to do something about Luffys!"

"Yep." Older Luffy laughed. "We should give ourselves nicknames so the other people (and ourselves) won't get confused!"

"You mean like a codename?"

When the older nodded his head, the younger's eyes sparkled. "Cool!"

"Alright, all we got to do now is to pick our new names." The scarred man thought for a while, then he smiled. "You will be named Lu!"

"Ehh, but that sounds like a girl's name! I don't want to be called that!" The boy disagreed with the elder's suggestion.

"You know, one time I got to wear a whole suit of amour! Awesome right?"

When younger Luffy nodded, older Luffy continued.

"But, in exchange, I had to be called Lucy. Do you want to keep your new name or do you want to be Lucy." The older one imparted wise words.

"Oh, then I wouldn't mind being Lu." The newly dubbed Lu chirped.

"But could I name you?" He pleaded.

"Oh okay." The older who was still called Luffy nodded. He couldn't find fault in that. "What's my new name?"

"Mmm... Still thinking" Lu replied.

"'Kay, good names are hard to think of."

They fell into a comfortable silence, Luffy giving space for Lu to think. After walking for a while, Lu spoke up.

"I thought of a name for you."

"Is that so, what is it?" Luffy asked.

"X, your new name is X."

"What, why?" Luffy -who could be possibly named X- blinked. He turned his head around to look at the boy on his back.

"It's because you have this big X on your chest." Lu replied, freeing one of his arms from his idol's neck to trace a X on his chest. He watched his older self's face carefully, judging his reaction.

Luffy paused and looked down at his mangled and rough skin of his scar.

"I guess so." He said, raising a hand up to touch his bare chest, his fingers curling into the rubbery flesh.

Lu looked at the scarred man with a pout. "Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing." Luffy let out a brief laugh. This shouldn't be affecting him now, so many years has passed... Even so, his eyes darkened.

"Oi,"

Luffy turned back to face Lu, who was looking up at him with large hopeful eyes. "You don't like my name I choose you, X?"

Luffy's eyes softened. "It's not that."

"Huh? Then what?" Lu let out a smile, happy that his idol didn't completely disapprove of the name. He himself thinks the name sounded cool and that it will match his older self perfectly.

Luffy grinned, Lu's smile was infectious and he didn't feel as sad as before. "Every name needs a meaning right? So what does X mean?"

"Err..." As Lu's head smoked as he struggled to think of possible reasons, Luffy also thought about the name.

Sure, the X was a physical part of him -a scar that will always be there- but it also has other meanings.

'X' stood for the unknown, a whole new undiscovered adventure.

'X' marks the spot, treasure for him and his crew to find.

'X' crossed out three days, a message sent across to his nakama.

And most of all, 'X' stood for Nakama.

"Ehh, I can't think of a meaning." Lu whined, disappointed in himself.

"Well, I have and I guess X isn't such a bad name."

"Really! You like it?" Lu said with bright eyes.

"Yep, it's a great name!" The newly named X chuckled. Lu grinned widely and hugged tighter to X.

"You want to go higher?"

"Huh?"

X shifted, and with rubbery arms, lifted Lu off his back and onto his shoulders.

Lu squealed with delight. "Woah, it's so high up here!"

"Full speed ahead!" X shouted and he charged through the forest, Lu shouting in joy the whole way to their destination.

~XXX~

When they reached Makino's bar, the stars was already visible and the moon shone brightly in the sky.

Lu hopped off X's shoulders, wincing briefly from the pain, then began leading X into the bar.

"Makino, Makino! There's someone I want you to meet!" Lu yelled, looking around for the green haired bartender.

"Luffy-kun, you're safe!"

Lu blinked at the woman who ran to hug him.

"Eh, of course I'm safe. I was just with X." He turned towards X who was still standing in the center of the room.

"X? Who's X?" Makino inquired.

"Oh right, I want you to meet someone!" Lu said, bounding towards X and dragging him over to Makino.

"Yo." X said, lifting a hand up as a greeting.

Makino blushed at the muscular young man who showed off his chest without shame. "Who may this be, Luffy-kun?"

"This is X, he's my-" Before Lu could say anything else, X slapped a hand over his mouth.

"I'm his older brother."

"Oh," Makino said in surprise. "I didn't know Luffy-kun had an older brother."

"But he's not.." Lu trailed off when he saw his older self shaking his head frantically. He then corrected himself. "Yeah! He's my older brother, and my name isn't Luffy any more, it's Lu!"

Makino blinked, but played along. "Sure Lu-kun, do you and your brother want something to eat?"

In a flash, both of them were sitting in front of the counter.

"Food!" Lu cheered.

"Meat!" X chanted, his mouth drooling.

Makino giggled. Despite her not really understanding what was happening, the proclaimed 'brothers' have more lot in common than their looks.

"Alright, alright, I'll make your meals as quickly as possible, you must be hungry."

As soon as Makino had disappeared into the kitchen, Lu spoke.

"X, why did you say you're my brother? I thought we're the same person."

X turned and smiled. "We shared the same grandpa and the same father, and I am older than you, so I am your older brother. And besides, isn't it better this way?"

Lu stared quietly at X for a few moments, then grinned back at X.

"Yeah!"

* * *

**End of Chapter Three**

* * *

**Both Luffy's now know each other's identities, yay! They didn't even question the existence of time travel *sweatdrops*. They also made names to separate each other. Tell me what you thought of the names. Lu's name is simple to explain, but I hesitate for X's name. Would it be too hard to understand/read? I also have troubles sometimes reading it, but I like the meaning behind the name (and it sounds cool). I also felt like the transitioning between events were too sudden. Please tell me want you think! I don't think it is too late to change it... **

**Poor Makino, having to feed two black holes (does Lu count as one yet? I mean before he ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi, he ate normal proportions of food from what I could tell.). I wonder what adventures will the two 'brothers' go to? Well lets hope they won't make too much of a mess... Knowing them, it's unless to hope.**

**Anyways, hoped you have enjoyed it!**

**Shout out to ****_Animegirl1279, Ashielle, PiratesDragons121, Dark D Phoenix, UnicornsThatGamble, Iany-chan, Black Night Wolf, LaFia _****and ****_Lightingblade49 _****for reviewing and big thanks to all that followed and favorited! I'm glad you all enjoyed the pervious chapter!**

**I think the next chapter should be uploaded in two weeks. **

**_Breaking Penguin (B. Penge)_**


	4. Chapter 4

**General Warnings: Language, some violence, time travel, Spoilers (I guess?) **

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, it belongs to Oda-sensei (I can't handle the pressure of making 18-20 pages of manga every week!). I only own some of the plot and any (or non) of my own original character/s.**

**No romantic non-canon pairings**

* * *

**Author's notes:**

**Finally pulled this chapter through! Even though it's not May 5 in my time zone by the time I post this, it is still May 5 in the EST time, so not late! Through reading it you could see why I really wanted to post this on this date. **

**Beta readers: ****_Black Night Wolf _****and ****_PirateDragons121 _****helped with beta reading most of this chapter. I had only completed the last part of this chapter today, so I didn't want to bother them in beta reading it in such as short time. So don't blame them for any mistakes you might see for the last 1,000 words. Also I might get them to help beta read the last part, so I could replace it with a better version :D**

* * *

**Chapter Four: Understanding**

It had already been a month since the two brothers first met. Over the course of the two weeks, the villagers had to get use to the presence of another Monkey in their small town. Some had doubts at first; a stranger popping up out of nowhere who claimed to be little Luffy's brother was pretty suspicious, but after seeing him with Luffy, one could clearly see the brotherly affection between the two.

The two Luffys had grown extremely close to each other in the relatively short amount of time. The younger was almost always seen stuck to the older one's side and the older grew to truly see the younger as his brother.

"Hey X?"

"Hm?"

"What are they doing?" Lu asked, pointing towards the field. A family of four sat at a picnic table filled with a variety of foods. A cake with six lit candles was in front of the youngest child. Luff watched as the child's face glowed with delight and how the family cheered before the child blew out all the candles in one go.

"Wow, that looks yummy!" Lu drooled. "Do you think I could have a cake as big as that?"

"Sure, when it's your birthday." X replied, his eyes glued to the road ahead as they strolled along the path through the village.

"Birthday?" Lu blinked. "What's a birthday, can I eat it?"

X started at Lu. "You don't know what's your birthday?"

When Lu shook his head, X asked again. "Don't you celebrate the day you were born?"

"Gramps always gives me extra training on the day. He said that one year older means one year closer to being a marine and I have to train more to become a strong marine."

"Oh" X said. His first time getting a birthday gift was when Ace and Sabo found out it was his birthday. His first time having a party and celebrating his birthday was with his crew. Only after he met them did he find out the fun and excitement of a birthday party. But Lu hadn't met any of them yet. All the memories of his birthdays so far was the cruel and harsh training he got from his grandpa. Sure, X suffered the same during his childhood, but now he knew what birthdays are supposed to be like and Lu didn't.

X keep quiet about his thoughts, while Lu kept glancing back at the delicious looking cake. Lu's stomach growled loudly even though he just ate a huge breakfast a while ago. His loud sound of hunger seemed to set X off as well, because X's stomach started grumbling alongside Lu's.

"How about we head to Makino's now? I'm sure she'll make lots of yummy food!"

Lu visibly brightened at the suggestion. "Okay, lets hurry!"

He held X's hand and took off down the path as fast as his short legs could carry him. X's brisk long strides easily matched up to him in speed.

Both of them skidded to a stop in front of the bar and Lu slammed open the door.

"Makino!" He shouted.

"Oh hi, Lu-kun and X-san." Makino peeked out from behind the kitchen doorway. She smiled knowingly at the two brothers. "Here for food, are we?"

They nodded frantically, their stomachs shamelessly grumbling at the mention of food. They rushed to sit down in their regular seats.

Makino laughed. "Well, guess I have to make lots then."

"Thanks!" X said grinning as he produced a small bag of beli out of nowhere. He tossed it to Makino, who caught the bag in surprise.

"X-san, you don't have to pay me every time!" She protested.

"But I always eat almost all of your food." X said honestly. It was true that he basically ate all of it, but he did try to hold back his hunger to not bankrupt the young woman.

"Fine, have it your way." She sighed, accepting the generous amount of money and placing it on the counter.

Lu stared at the bag on the counter in front of them, and glanced at his older self who noticed and smiled.

"I'll pay you too." He announced.

The green hair woman giggled. "Are you sure you have the money, Lu-kun?"

"Oh." Lu looked down. He didn't have any money.

"I'm paying for you too." X said, looking at his brother with an eyebrow raised.

"No! I will pay for myself because I'm a man."

"Oh really?" Makino asked.

"Yeah, I'll pay you back with my treasure tab! And I'll pay even more than X!" He shouted, puffing up his chest. He then turned to look at X. "A man has to do that, right X?"

"Yep!" X answered enthusiastically. "But only for those who deserve it."

"Okay!" Lu grinned. He was so glad he made his brother proud!

"Alright, alright, I'll be waiting for the money Lu-kun." Makino said before she stepped back into the kitchen to make food for her hungry guests.

Lu watched her disappear before turning to X.

"Say X, tell me what's a birthday?"

X glanced at him. "A birthday is the day you are born. You celebrate it with your friends and family, have a party, eat loads of food, and everyone will give you gifts."

"That sounds fun." Lu mumbled, looking down at his lap.

X stares at the side of his little brother's head with pursed lips and soft eyes. Before he could open his mouth to say something, Makino waltzed out of the kitchen balancing a large amount of plates on her hands and arms. The stacks wobbled wildly as she set them down in front of Lu and X, but none of the food spilled out. She had gotten used to carrying an absurd amount of plates after X had arrived.

Lu's head shoot up, mouth watering and eyes sparking. "Woah, it looks tasty!"

"Of course, I made it," Makino chuckled as she flexed her arm. "I've had a lot of practice."

X was also in a similar state to Lu. Makino's food, although not as professionally made like Sanji's, had a unique taste the reminded him of home and caring love.

The conversation aside, both of them dug into the food like mad men, trying to snatch food from each other. Although their meals were always eaten so messily, not a drop of soup was spilled or a single grain of rice wasted. All the food always disappeared into the black holes that were the brothers' mouths.

"Ah!~" Both of them let out a large belch and slumped forward onto the counter. "That was good!"

The lady giggled, used to their antics, before she turned to Lu.

"Now that you're here, go and have a bath Lu-kun."

"I don't wanna!" The child protested.

"But I brought you this new shirt that I wanted you to try out." She said, holding out an red shirt with the Japanese characters for 'brother' printed on it. She glanced at the calendar hanging from behind the counter. " It's your bath day anyways. It wouldn't be good if you got it dirty the first day, eh?"

"Alright, I'll take a bath." Lu jumped off the stool and quickly ran off upstairs to the bathroom.

"Lu-kun, wait! You forgot the shirt…" She trailed off when she heard Lu had slammed the door shut. She pressed her palm against her forehead, sighing. "Ah geez, Lu-kun is always so impatient. I guess I'll bring this up to him."

"Wait."

The barkeeper turned around. "What is it X-san?"

"What's the date?"

She looked at the calendar again. "It's the 21th of April, why do you ask?"

"I want to find out how many more days it is until Lu's birthday."

"Lu's birthday?" She blinked.

"Yeah." X quickly counted using his fingers. "It's exactly two weeks later, on May 5th. That will be just enough time to plan a super mega awesome party with lots of food! He doesn't even know what a birthday is and I want to show him."

Makino liked to consider herself as Lu's older sister, or maybe even his mother figure, but she never really give much thought about his birthday. Lu had never brought the topic up or even asked for a birthday gift, and now she knew the reason why.

"Oh dear." She muttered. "I didn't know Lu's birth date till now and I don't know how I'll make up for it. I wonder if he'll be mad at me."

"It's alright, Lu will forgive you." X said, grinning kindly at the panicking young woman. He knew his little brother wouldn't mind. (especially when he himself forgave her when she found out later when he was young.)

"Really?" She said, a shaky smile appearing on her face. X's smiles are infectious, much like his younger brother.

"Yep, he'll also be extra happy if you make him loads of yummy foods for his party!"

"Sure!" Makino giggled at his enthusiasm. She took a marker from her apron and drew a red circle on Lu's birthday. "There, now I will never forget it."

"Shishishi! But don't tell him, it's a secret!"

She nodded. "How about I go tell the villagers about Lu's birthday while you keep him distracted?"

"Hm…" X hummed. At first he just planned this to be a private party between Lu, Makino, and himself, but the more the merrier, right? "Okay, you go do that."

He then noticed something strange. "Hey Makino? What is that marking that's also on Lu's birthday?"

Makino turned around. "What marking?"

He pointed behind her at the calendar. The green haired woman paled. "That's the date that Garp-san will come back to Dawn island!"

Hearing this, X freaked out. If the old man were to come back just before or during the party, he would no doubt wreak everything and drag Lu back to training again. Sweat dripped down his neck. What should he do, what should he do, what should-

"Makino, I don't have any clothes to wear!" A childish shout drifted down from the top of the stairs.

The sound of his little brother snapped X out of his turmoil.

"I'm coming Lu-kun." Makino said back, sending a worried look at X before picking up a bundle of clothes which included the new shirt. Just as she was about to go up the stairs, a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.

"Don't worry."

She faced the person attached to the hand. He sent her a determined grin and pressed the straw hat down so it covered his eyes.

"I'll deal with Gramps."

~XXX~

Despite what he boldly declared almost two weeks ago, X felt tormented. The plans of the party were being executed; the best fresh meats and foods delivered, the towns folk were all excited, and Makino was distracting Lu's attention away from his missing brother. So what was wrong?

X knew exactly what. His observation haki tingled as he felt the Marine ship sail towards his general direction, but it was not the Marines that sacred him. Oh no, he wasn't scared of any marine, he knew he could (and did) beat all of them. He was getting closer and closer towards the monster in disguise, more commonly known as Garp.

He watched as the mist parted (when did that appear?) and the massive ship towered over him with it's dog styled theme. He gulped and took a deep breath to steel his nerves. He can't back down now, not when Lu's birthday was tomorrow. Ready or not, here he goes.

~XXX~

"Vice Admiral Garp."

Garp continued to munch nosily on his rice crackers, ignoring the pleading voice of one of his subordinates.

"Vice Admiral Garp!"

*Chomp chomp chomp* The incessant noise of the crackers drowned out all the noises around Garp.

A vein popped up on the unknown random marine #1's forehead. "VICE ADMIRAL GARP!" He screamed.

"Hmm?" The Vice Admiral finally stopped on his nine hundred and ninety ninth cracker. He swivelled around from his position on the dog head figurehead to glare at the man. "People these days don't know anything about respect."

The marine #1 fell down comically. "It's you who is being disrespectful!" The marine then seemed to realise he had shouted at his superior, because he bowed lower than ninety degrees. "I'm sorry sir!"

"Bwahahahaha! What's bothering you?" Garp asked.

"Sir, there is an intruder on board!"

"What, you called me with that? Can't you deal with it yourself?" He said, waving his hand to dismiss the new recruit.

"But sir!" The marine looked oddly stricken.

"Fine fine, hand me a cannonball. I'll finish him off."

Now the marine looked panicked. "But sir, the last time you threw a cannonball at a target on our ship you destroyed the railings!"

Garp sighed. "Is 'But sir' the only thing you can say? Where's the pirate scum?"

"No need to search for me."

Both of the marines paused in their conversation, one pale and sweating, the other one blank and slightly curious.

"Who are you?" The calmer one asked bluntly.

"H-h-he's the intruder! He defeated all of our men without even touching them!"

"Is that so?" Garp examined the young intruder who was standing on the very tip of the figurehead. He wearing a red opened cardigan, a yellow sash, blue shorts with cuffs, and had a red and gold cloak draped over his shoulders. He was well muscled but the lanky man was nowhere near Garp's own broad-chest, imposing height build. He didn't look very strong, but looks don't always mean strength.

Garp could feel the power and confidence that the man easily carried around. The man had beat his whole crew, which probably also meant he beat Bogard, his right hand man who could cut guns into tiny pieces before an amateur can shoot them. Not to mention that he got near Garp and the marine recruit without either of them noticing, which meant he was pretty skillful in observation haki and/or was really quick.

"What do you want?" Despite the man's obvious strength, the man who was able to corner and capture Gol D. Roger was not afraid in any way.

"I am X," The intruder hesitated briefly before continuing. "Monkey D. X."

"What? Monkey D.?" Garp said in shock. He himself was a single child and that idiot Dragon was his only son. The only Monkeys in this world should be Dragon, his beloved little grandchild, and himself. So unless Dragon had another kid, which he doubts because the intruder looks like he was in his early twenties, the line of Monkey D.s should be only 3 people.

The old man's lips thinned. He didn't like outsiders using his surname so easily.

"Tell me the truth!" He thundered, swinging his fist at the man.

X easily jumped over Garp's head, landing on the marine #1's head before hopping back onto the ground. "That is the truth!"

The marine spun around and thrusted his fist forward to where he heard the voice. The blow landed on marine #1's face, who was in front of X. The poor man slumped down unconscious.

"Look what you did!"

"What the hell, that was your own fault Old Man!" X barked.

Well that does it, Garp thought angrily. Not only did the intruder use a surname that was not his, the man also beat up all of his crew. The old marine's Conqueror's haki shot forward like an cannonball towards the man.

His eye widened when the man showed no sign of being effected. His eyes widened even further when he felt the intruder's own haki lash out as well.

"You have Conquerors' too?"

The man smirked. "Yep, want another demonstration?"

Garp recovered from his shock and narrowed his eyes. Maybe the intruder was a Monkey D. after all, cheeky young brat. "Bwahahaha! You're on, brat!"

Both of the men's fist clenched as Armament haki covered their arms with a shiny black coating. They drew their arms back, aimed, and punched.

The attacks clashed against each other as the men forced their strength through to their hand, trying to overpower the opponent. Waves of haki bursted out, and black lighting spread out from where their fists met. The very sky seemed to split in half.

"Not bad, brat. It has been a while since I faced someone who could match up to me!" Garp shouted, not caring that sweat was dripping furiously down his face which had an ferocious grin spread across it.

"I'm not a brat, I'm almost 25!" X yelled back. He also had a wide maniacal smile that seemed to split his face in half. The veins in his arms budged as he pressed his fist forward.

"You're still a brat to me! Tell me your name, intruder!"

"I'm Monkey D. X!"

As the fist smashed across his face, this time Garp truly believed that it was the intruder's name. He flew backwards and crashed onto the main mast of his ship where a crater had formed with a sickening crunch. The old marine slid down onto the floor and with a slightly shaking hand, reached up to touch the edge of his lip. He looked down. His fingers were covered with blood and he coughed up more of the bright crimson liquid.

He heard his opponent walk towards him. When sandalled feet appeared in his view he looked up. Although there was blood that dyed his uniform, he still looked up with a grin.

"You still haven't told me what you want, Monkey D. X."

"You finally accepted my name!" X letted out a cheer, before he calmed down. His eyes that were just glinting in the sunlight hardened. "I want you to stay away from Lu and Dawn island."

Garp jumped up to his feet despite the wound on his chest and the internal damage. "Lu, you mean Luffy? No way I'm staying away, he is due for his training tomorrow!"

"Please?" The man looked up with wide eyes. Garp was having a hard time believing that the young man who was pouting up at him was the same man that slammed him into the mast. "It's only for a few days."

"Still no, Luffy needs his training to become a strong marine! Who are you to know Luffy anyways?" Garp snarled.

"I'm his brother." X dodged as a fist came his way and yelped. "Ask him on a day that is not tomorrow if you don't believe me Gramps!"

"Eh…" This man who claims to be Luffy's brother did look like an older Luffy and was similar to himself when he was younger. But still… "I'll ask him whenever I want! If you're really family get ready for the Fist of Love!"

He drew his arm back while X looked on with wide horrified eyes.

"Look, a giant sea king!" X said, pointing directly behind Garp.

He panicked when Garp paid no attention. Pirate King or not, he was still afraid of his grandpa's Fist of Love.

He quickly added more to the distraction. "Look, a giant sea king made of donuts and rice crackers!"

"Really?" Garp whirled around, forgetting about his attack. "Where?"

X took the chance to punch his grandpa so that he flew across the ship and landed with a splash in the distance.

When the old marine finally swam back to his ship, a pair of hands hauled him back onto the deck.

"Thanks." The Vice Admiral said, smiling at his right hand man. He knew that the man wouldn't go down so easily.

Bogard gave a brief bow before straightening. "It is my duty sir."

"Now where is Monkey D. X?" He asked. His subordinate gave him a confused look. "I mean the intruder."

"Ah." The man replied and pointed at the horizon to where a blurry shaped figure standing on top of something could be seen. "It seems to be he's getting away on that sea king over there."

"Well what are we waiting for, after him!" He ordered.

"I'm afraid we can't." Bogard shake his head solemnly. "In case you haven't noticed, our main mast is cracked."

Garp glanced to his side. Indeed the man was right, the crater had almost split the pole right in half and it looked like it was barely holding up. "So? It doesn't matter, chase after him by using our fore sail along with the other sails! We can always fix it at Dawn island. There is plenty of materials there, which will serve its purpose until we get back to Marineford after seeing my beloved grandchild."

"The goods we have to deliver to the Nobles were thrown to the bottom of the sea by the intruder-"

"His name is Monkey D. X"

"Yes. Monkey D. X was throwing our cargo into the sea while we tried to stop him. Lucky they're in waterproof crates. We have to recover them before we can capture the criminal. This at least would take a full day as only you and I can hold our breaths long enough to recover the cargo from the sea bed and swim back up. With our speed decreased with the missing sail, we would most likely arrive two days later at our destin-"

"To hell with the cargo and all the bullshit! I don't care about the nobles and the cargo that is most likely petty trinkets to hang around their necks. Since when have the marines been lowered to being delivery boys?" He ranted. "I won't be late for my grandson's birthday, he needs tougher training since he's a year older now!"

"Sir," the loyal man said calmly, used to his superior's boisterousness. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku says that if you don't complete the mission, not only will he call you back to head quarters, he will also cancel your orders of donuts and rice crackers for five months."

"No! Anything but that!" Garp gasped. "Fine, we'll pick up the cargo even if it means arriving a few days later. I'm sure nothing crazy will happen without me, Bwahaha!" The old man chuckled as he got prepared to dive into the ocean.

"Sir?" Bogart said in a slightly curious tone.

Garp turned around, already half way from taking off his jacket. "Hmm?"

"Who was Monkey D. X, what is your relationship with him? I've never heard you mention him before."

"He says he's my beloved grandson's brother, so that makes me his grandfather. No wonder he seems so protective! Not to mention he acts like Luffy when I was about to use the Fist of Love. He is definitely Luffy's brother, I taught my little grandson well!" He guffawed.

Bogard sweat dropped at his leader's carefree admittance of his not-so-gentle treatment of his grandkids, but the usually composed man refused to show a physical sign of it effecting him.

The clothes on Garp's upper body were off, and he jumped into the sea cannonball style. Before his body submerged into the water, he added a side note. "Oh also, I never mentioned him because today was is the first time I've seen or heard about him!"

This time, the right hand man allowed himself to fall onto the ground with a thud.

~XXX~

"Enjoying your birthday party so far Lu-kun?"

"You bet I am!" Lu replied, gulping down his apple juice as quickly as possible, trying to match the speed of his brother who was downing his drink.

"Another please!" X and Lu said together, slamming down their mugs on the counter at the same time. They grinned at each other, both of their faces flushed with the excitement of the party.

"I'm glad you liked it." Makino giggled, pouring out more juice for the younger and rum for the older.

The party was at full blast, the whole village gathered around the bar and pigging out on the delicious food that Makino made. Lucky the barkeeper made huge amounts because the two Monkey brothers ate a half of all the available food.

"This is the best surprise birthday party ever!"

The green hair lady and the older brother were kind enough to not remind Lu that it was only his first birthday party.

"Hey, do you want to eat the cake now?" X asked.

Lu's eyes lit up. "Cake! Cake! Cake!"

"So the cake it is." The older stretched his arm past several drunk men and latched onto the fridge door. He then took hold of the plate and lifted it above and over the partygoers' heads towards their table. The plate was settled gently in front of them.

Lu had an ecstatic expression on his face, and X looked on appreciably even though he'd seen the cake in the process of its making.

"It looks wonderful!" The birthday boy exclaimed. The cake was so big, one could question how it could even fit in the fridge.

"I helped! I suggested to make it meat flavoured!"

"Whoa, awesome!"

Makino smiled. "It's my first time trying to make a meat cake, I hope it'll taste okay."

"Of course it would be great, it's made by you!" Shouted Lu, X, and the people around them.

Makino ducked her head and blushed from the praise. "I guess I should cut it now and give everyone a piece."

"But I want to eat it all by myself." Lu whined while looked at her with wide, puppy dog eyes. When she looked at him strangely, he corrected himself. "I will even share it with X and you!"

"Fine, anything for the birthday boy." She sighed, but then grinned cheekily "Luckily I expected you to say that, so I made enough delicious chocolate cupcakes for everyone!"

"Ehh, no fair!"

"Shishishi, she got you there Lu!"

The party carried on for another three hours before the number of people slowly dawdled away back to their homes, the food was finished, and Lu was tired and yawning.

"It's time to go to bed Lu-kun."

"Don't wanna."

"No, it's past your bed time already." Makino said firmly.

"He has a bed time?" X pipped up.

"Quiet, X-san." She hushed him and he quickly covered his mouth with both hands.

"Alright then Lu," X tried to conceal his panic. Makino sometimes could be strict! "How about we go to our house now?"

Lu blinked up at his brother, hesitated for a bit, before he beamed. If his brother agreed to Makino, then he would too! "Okay!"

"Then lets get going!"

After both of them arrived at their house, the two brothers got settled into their separate beds. X fidgeted and rolled around on his bed. Somehow he couldn't fall asleep despite a slight wooziness he felt due to the mild influence of the alcohol.

"X~" A quiet, almost meek, voice traveled across the room.

"Yeah?" X propped himself up on his elbow, and faced his little brother. Well if he couldn't sleep, why not properly and clearly listen to what Lu had to say?

"Can't sleep."

X laughed. "Same. You want to go out? I can't sleep too."

"But how about Makino?"

The older shivered. "Just don't let her see us?" That sounded more like a question than a statement.

"Mmm, okay!" The younger saw no problem in the suggestion and quickly agreed to what seemed like escape from hours of lying on his bed in boredom. "How do we get out?"

"Here." X was quick to jump out of the window and he landed with a soft thump on the dirt floor. "Jump!"

Lu looked at X who was on the ground with his arms stretched wide. Without a second of doubt Lu jumped. X caught him safety with both his rubbery arms.

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere in the forest."

"Ah okay."

They walked to the edge of the forest and stared at the dark, shadowy forest. Lu clutched onto X's shirt.

"X-"

"This will take forever to hike up there." X placed grasped his chin with his hand. "Ah, I know! Hold on tight Lu! Gumo Gumo no…"

"Wha-!"

"Rocket!" With both hands on two far away tree trunks, X rocked himself and Lu up and over the trees.

The cool wind whipped at their faces as they went at a tremendous speed. Lu giggled, his early wariness from entering the forest gone.

Seconds before they would hit the ground, X inflated himself to provide a soft landing for his brother. Lu jumped off the air filled stomach onto the grassy floor.

"Where are we?"

The clifftop covered in lush soft grass looked out at the sea. The darkness of the night made it so it was near impossible to see where the sea ended and the sky started. Stars twinkled and a curvy moon hung on the dark background. A gentle wind blew and rustled both of the males' already messy hair.

X pressed his hat down to stop it from blowing away with the wind. "Me and my brothers discovered this place when we were kids, we came here often."

"Ah." Lu had a feeling that the brother X was talking about was not himself, but he didn't dwell deeper despite curiosity had started wriggling into his brain.

X sat down facing the sea and patted the space besides him. "Want to sit?"

Lu quickly sat down next to his brother as the said brother asked him a question.

"What do you think of today?"

"It was so cool! When I first walked into the bar because I wanted to ask you where you went yesterday, the lights were all dark. Then suddenly the lights came on and streamers popped out of nowhere and the villagers were all yelling happy birthday! Then I found you and Makino sitting on the table with lots of food. You even waited for me to start eating before you ate! Shishishi!"

"Oi oi!" Luffy said good heartedly.

"So what do you think of birthdays now Lu?"

The kid turned to face X. "I think they are fun, and you can eat loads of food there and no one would tell you to eat less!"

"Shishishi, that's defiantly part of birthdays, but there are more." He paused briefly and Lu turned to him for his wise words.

"Birthdays symbolise the day we are born. Some hate their birthday, because to them, it's the start of a hateful life or one year closer to death." X's mind flashed to a kid version of his deceased brother. "Some also hate others birthday because it's the birth of an 'evil'." The image of the Marines at Marineford loomed. "But I feel that it's not like that. They are meant to celebrate the freedom of life, 'cause without being born, how could we set out to sea and find our nakama? You celebrate your birthday with your nakama, not with the people you hate."

Lu looked up at this brother in astounded awe. "Wow… Does that mean that Makino, Woodslap and all the villagers are my nakama as well?"

X nodded and for once, both of the brothers were quiet as they admired the stars scattered in the night sky.

The silence was broken by Lu yawning and then letting out a sneeze. X looked at his brother and took off his cloak to drape it over the shivering mass. Lu wrapped the cloak around himself and snuggled closer to X.

"We have the same birthday right?" Lu mumbled. His mind was already drifting off to sleep, the adrenaline of the party finally disappearing.

"I guess so, we are technically the same person."

"X, if we are the same person, will our future be the same? Will I get to meet as much nakama as you?"

Even though the intention of the question was innocent, X froze.

_"Being alone hurts more than pain!"_

_"If you share a drink, you can become brothers!"_

_"Are you the son of the devil? Forget it… rather than to die here why don't I just accept your offer and become a pirate!"_

_"Help me!"_

_"I'm the captain!"_

_"All of us hold onto foolish dreams. I'm going to do this for my own dream, the All Blue. I'll go with you on the road to becoming the Pirate King."_

_"But I'm not human, I'm a monster! I can't be friends with humans!" "Shut up and come with us!"_

_"I want to live! Take me out to sea with you!"_

_"I'll take care of it. I will be the shipwright of your ship!"_

_"I hereby pledge my services and life to Captain Straw Hat Luffy!"_

All his nakama dead, _dead, DEAD_. _No, not dead, they are only dead if I forget them!_

Although he wanted to scream, X kept his calm and answered Lu in a slightly more shakier than usual voice. "No, Lu is Lu and X is X, we are separate and everyone's journey is special. You will get to find lots of great nakama when you head out to sea."

"'Kay." Satisfied with the answer, Lu promptly fell asleep on his brother's lap.

Alone in his thoughts, X turned to the wide vast sea, unconsciously patting Lu's hair. On that day, he made himself a promise.

_I don't regret what has happened, but I know I'll regret it if I don't do anything for Lu._

* * *

**End of Chapter Four**

* * *

**A Luffy's birthday chapter, whoop! It's a big coincidence since I planned out a birthday chapter since almost half an year ago and my publishing date just happened to match up Luffy's birthday. **

**A lot of the chapter was about Garp as well… He crashed the story o_O So here we have X's 'first' meeting with Garp (at least in this timeline). I feel like Garp will carry out his revenge with the dreaded Fist of Love! I hope I did their meeting justice!**

**I felt like X was too OOC, but that could be because he's now older (I don't think that would change him much) and because he has a little brother to take care of! I also think that the transitioning between the parts are too sudden. I never did well in transitioning! I had to add that tiny part at the end with hints of angst (can it be called angst?) mostly because I want X to have a firm mindset for his future in Luffy's timeline.**

**Haha, hoped you enjoyed this despite the kinda rushed chapter. **

**So instead of just mentioning the names of the people who review, I felt like I should reply to them, because personally, I like to know that the author actually pays attention and appreciate my review/s. **

**_Monkey D. Funky_****: Yes I agree with you! That was the main reason I wrote this fic, no point in trying to mimic someone else's time travel story. Haha, thanks, some times I wonder what would happen too!**

**_Animegirl1279_****: Yes thanks for the heads up! You should see our favourite red haired captain soon, no telling when!…**

**_Phonenix_****: Massive thanks, I hope I'll be able to keep it at at good quality and keep it updated too!**

**_Lany-chan_****: Thanks for reviewing again! Here's your Garp chapter!~ Though this is not the last we will see of him yet.**

**_Lightingblade49:_**** Yep, it's sometimes difficult to predict as well, that's why I keep a note book containing any plot points I think up! Yep, rest assured, it will expand for that long (I don't know where's a good ending place!). Yes Luffy (X) is getting more mature as we read. Surprising isn't it? Ha, it's not Garp that arrives, it's X who got to him! And as for romance, there is only platonic love/nakamaship in this fic, sorry if you are disappointed!**

**_Ashlielle:_**** Yep Luffy would be a cute brother (both of them!). I'm sorry to hear you are sick. *Munches on cookies and burns tongue on hot chocolate***

**_Dark D Phoenix_****: Eheheh, uploaded, though it's more like 2 weeks instead of one!**

**_OnePieceFan2:_**** I can't wait too!**

**_Black Night Wolf_****: No it is my pleasure for your help ;)! Though I don't think my cover art is as amazing as you say.**

**There done. Hope I didn't miss anyone, I only did the ones who reviewed on chapter 3 though. Do these types of things bother you? If so, please let me know by PM or review, always glad to listen to opinions! That said, I'm also opened to constructive criticism. Also thanks to all who favourited and followed!**

**This was my biggest chapter yet (around 5,500 without the bold writing). I have exams coming up next week, so next chapter might be uploaded about 3 weeks later.**

_**B. Penge**_

**P.S. does anyone actually read ALL of the bold writing up until here?**


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